By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team defeated Wheaton College 49-42 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs Saturday at Perkins Stadium. The Warhawks advance to face Wartburg in the quarterfinals Saturday, December 2 – location of the game has yet to be announced by the NCAA. 

Box Score

UW-Whitewater will compete in the quarterfinals for the 14th time since 2005 — the Warhawks are 13-1 in quarterfinal games in that span. Wartburg advanced with a 42-20 win over Whitworth Saturday. The other three quarterfinal matchups feature North Central and UW-La Crosse, Alma and Cortland and Johns Hopkins and Randolph-Macon. 

Editor’s note: Virtually all of the crowd stayed through the entire cold game. At kickoff the temperature was 28 degrees with a cloudy sky and southwest winds at 6 mph.

Saturday’s game at Perkins Stadium was a back-and-forth affair that ended with a number of career highs for Warhawks in all facets of the game. Offensively, Tommy Coates had a phenomenal outing with a career-best 169 yards bolstered by a career long 56-yard reception. Quarterback Alec Ogden registered four passing touchdowns, matching his career high, for the second straight week. Tamir Thomas posted career highs in rushing attempts (28), rushing yards (224) and receiving touchdowns (2). 

Defensively, Ethan Gallagher improved his career high for tackles in a game to nine. In special teams play, Kamrin Hutt added a career-long 57-yard punt in the contest. 

It all started on the Warhawks’ first drive of the game. Similar to last week, UWW got on the board early. This time, Thomas capitalized on the good field position after a short Wheaton punt with a 56-yard run on the second play of the game for the Warhawk offense. Jeff Isotalo-McGuire split the uprights and the scoreboard read 7-0 in favor of UWW less than three minutes into the game. 

The Thunder responded with a 13-play, 73-yard touchdown drive as Wheaton punched it in from a yard out to knot the game 7-7. 

UW-Whitewater marched down the field on the next drive as Thomas had a pair of big plays to open the possession. He registered an 11-yard scamper on the first play and hauled in a 29-yard catch to set up UWW at the Wheaton 29. A couple of 13-yard gains on a Coates reception and Alijah Maher-Parr run had the Warhawks enjoying first and goal from the two. Ogden crossed the line with a big push from the offensive line for a 14-7 UWW lead. 

Wheaton continued the scoring flurry with a 55-yard touchdown pass to tie the game once again before the end of the quarter. The Thunder owned the second quarter adding two more scores while the Wheaton defense held the Warhawks off the board. WC scored on a 44-yard and 18-yard receptions to take a 28-14 lead at the intermission. 

UW-Whitewater came out of the locker room determined. The Warhawks needed just four plays to narrow the gap with Ogden hitting Coates for a 50-yard score on the first drive. 

The UWW defense held, and Mason Stepanski burst around the end of the line to block the punt on fourth-and-nine. The kick caromed out of bounds just four yards from the line of scrimmage after Stepanski got a piece of it to bring the Warhawk offense back out at the UWW 43. The Thunder defense held forcing a three-and-out, but the Warhawk coaching staff had a nifty play call on fourth. The punt team initially lined up but sprinted off the field as the offense came on forcing the Thunder to call a timeout early in the half. Hutt came on to punt after the brief break in play and his 29-yard punt hit the back of a Thunder special teams player. Karsten Libby jumped on the live ball and out came the Warhawk offense with fantastic field possession at the Wheaton 23. 

This time, UW-Whitewater capitalized as Ogden hit Tyler Vasey for 14 yards. Thomas took the handoff up the middle for five yards before hauling in a dart from Ogden from the four-yard line to tie the game 28-28. 

A pair of punts wrapped up the third quarter, but the Warhawks added on the first play of the fourth. Ogden dropped back and went deep down the middle hitting Coates in stride as two defenders upended each other leaving Coates with a wide-open view of the endzone. The 56-yard touchdown gave UWW a 35-28 lead. 

The Thunder responded with a huge 48-yard run off the right side of the line to open their next drive. A few plays later, Wheaton receiver Ben Bonga made a great diving catch in the endzone from 14-yards out to even the game, 35-35, with 12:27 to go. 

UWW went 65-yards in 10 plays to reclaim the lead as Thomas tallied his second receiving touchdown of the game, this one from six yards out. Egon Hein brought the offense right back onto the field with an interception on Wheaton’s next play. His 20-yard return set up UWW at the Wheaton 20. The handoff went to Thomas and he burst through the line and up the middle for a 20-yard score on the very next play to give UW-Whitewater a two-touchdown lead, 49-35. 

Wheaton did not fold – marching 67-yards on 10 plays to pull within seven with less than four minutes left. 

The Warhawks top hands crew went out for the probably onside kick. The call was right and Vasey reined in the bouncing kick at the Wheaton 47-yard line. A few plays later, facing third-and-four, a facemask penalty on Wheaton extended the Warhawk drive. UWW ended up turning the ball over on downs despite a personal foul call on the fourth down play giving Wheaton 21 seconds to drive 96 yards. 

On the first play, a short completion was followed by a series of laterals for a 41-yard gain leaving enough time for one last play. Gallagher broke up the deep ball to seal the win. 

Ogden was 15-25 for 239 yards and four passing touchdowns. He added 73 rushing yards and another touchdown. Coates led the receiving corps with 169 yards on eight catches including a pair of scores. Thomas averaged eight-yards a carry with 224 on 28 attempts. 

Joey Antonietti led the defense with 11 tackles. Cole Yocum had UWW’s lone sack of the day. Gallagher ended up with three passes broken up and a quarterback hurry to go along with nine tackles. 

Update 11/25 @ 6:45 p.m.: The men took the gold medal vs. Columbia, 81-45.

Editor’s note: The following press release was issued on Wednesday, November 22. The following is the status of the competition since that date:
Men’s: On Wednesday the team defeated Chile by a score of 88 to 14 in the quarterfinal. On Friday they defeated Argentina in the semifinal, 88 to 54. The team will compete versus Columbia at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the gold medal match.
Women’s: On Thursday in the semifinal the team defeated Brazil by a score of 60 to 30. In the gold medal match versus Canada on Friday, USA took home the gold by a score of 62 to 56.
By the way, the image on the homepage is from a competition in 2021.

By Chris Lindeke
University Marketing and Communications

Five members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater family continue competition on a world stage this week as they represent Team USA wheelchair basketball at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile.

AJ Fitzpatrick and Talen Jourdan, current members of the Warhawk men’s wheelchair basketball team, and Jake Williams, a former Warhawk and current head coach of the men’s team, are members of the men’s team.

The Team USA men are 3-0 after group stage games and will play in a quarterfinal against Chile today [November 22] at 2:30 p.m. Central Time.

Williams, who earned a BSE in physical education in 2015, was a member of the gold medal winning Team USA at the 2022 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) World Championships and claimed gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and 2016 Rio Paralympics. He was a member of the 2019 team that won gold at the Parapan Games in Lima, Peru.

Jourdan is a senior studying general business, while Fitzpatrick is a sophomore majoring in human performance. Like Williams, Jourdan was a member of the 2022 IWBF World Championships gold medal team. Fitzpatrick is competing internationally for the first time after earning a spot on the Intercollegiate Division All-Rookie Team as a freshman at UW-Whitewater in 2022-23.

Josie DeHart and Rebecca Murray, who attended UW-Whitewater and competed for the Warhawk women’s wheelchair basketball team, will play for the women’s team. The U.S. women are also 3-0 after group play and will play in a semifinal against Brazil on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Central Time.

DeHart, who is originally from Fruita, Colorado, attended the university from 2018 to 2022 and earned a BSE in physical education.

Murray graduated in 2014 with a BSE in special education and has enjoyed a successful career in wheelchair basketball, having previously won Parapan medals in 2007 and 2011. In 2021, the Germantown native earned an ESPY Award for Best Athlete with a Disability in Women’s Sports.

All five athletes were selected to their teams by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee following selection camps over the summer in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

View the entire competition schedule here.

Fans can follow the games live by visiting the Parapan American Games webpage.

UW-Whitewater is recognized consistently for exceptional programming and outcomes for students with disabilities. The Warhawk men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball teams are club sports that compete nationally. 

The Warhawk men’s team has won 13 national championships since 1982, while the women have claimed three national titles. Several of each program’s alums are Paralympic medalists.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will host the Wheaton College Thunder Saturday, November 25 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.

GAMEDAY INFO
Tickets can be purchased in advance or on the day of the game. $14 for Adults,  $10 Over 65 / Students and youth 5-18, Free kids under 5 (no ticket needed) Click here to buy tickets. 

Parking is cashless $10/$15 – it is recommended fans purchase parking in advance. Click here to purchase parking. 

IN THE POLLS
UWW: #5 D3football.com (Prev: 5) / #5 American Football Coaches Association (Prev: 6)
WC: #10 / #12

UWW’S PLAYOFF PATH
The Warhawks claimed one of four at-large bids into the 2023 NCAA Division III Playoffs – a 16th appearance in the postseason since 2005. With one of the toughest strengths of schedule in Division III, UWW will face a ranked (includes a team receiving votes) opponent for the eighth time this season on Saturday. UW-Whitewater, a six-time Stagg Bowl winner, is 59-12 in the playoffs in program history.

The Warhawks set the tone early in last week’s 42-14 win over Bethel. UWW needed just three plays in its first drive to get on the scoreboard as Alec Ogden (Marshall, Wis./Monona Grove) hit Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) in stride for a 49-yard touchdown. Two drives later, Ogden found Nick Wind (Downers Grove, Ill./Montini Catholic) for a 32-yard scoring strike. Then, in the first play of the second quarter, Tommy Coates (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) hauled in a pass from Ogden for a 19-yard touchdown and a 21-0 UW-Whitewater lead. The Royals were able to get on the board twice, each time the Warhawks had the response scoring three much TDs in the second half.

Ogden was efficient completing 11-of-15 for 218 yards and four passing touchdowns without throwing an interception. He spread the ball around hitting six different receivers. Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) was the leading rusher with 168 yards on 13 carries including a pair of rushing touchdowns. Hawk Heffner (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) led the defense with nine tackles.

HOW WHEATON GOT HERE
The Thunder also received an at-large bid into the playoffs. Wheaton defeated Mount St. Joseph in their first round matchup 41-34 in Wheaton. The Thunder put up 564 yards of total offense – 302 on the ground and 262 over the air.

Giovanni Weeks led the Thunder with four touchdowns in the game. He took 38 of Wheaton’s 58 handoffs running for 256 yards. Defensively, linebackers Caleb McClung, Johnny Eller and Lawson Haigler each registered six tackles.

ON THE AIR
Saturday’s game will air live online on the WIAC Network. The contest can be heard on 105.9 FM The Hog in the Whitewater area, or online at www.1059thehog.com.

SERIES
This is the fifth meeting between the Warhawks and Thunder. UW-Whitewater holds a 4-0 record over Wheaton. The last matchup was also a second round playoff game as UWW won 31-17 on November 28, 2015 at McCully Stadium in Wheaton.